A new documentary about vets who spoke out against the Iraq and Afghanistan wars from filmmakers David Zeiger (Sir, No Sir), Mike Majoris and Bestor Cram (Unfinished Symphony), screening to benefit for the Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW). Q&A will Zeiger, Majoris and Cram, and IVAW members from the film!

THIS IS WHERE WE TAKE OUR STAND is the story of hundreds of veterans who risked everything to publicly tell their accounts of the horrors they witnessed in Iraq and Afghanistan. In March of 2008, two hundred and fifty veterans and active-duty soldiers marked the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq by gathering in Washington, DC, to testify from their own experience about the nature of the occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq. It was chilling, horrifying, and challenging for all who witnessed it. Against tremendous odds, they brought the voices of the veterans themselves into the debate. “This is Where We Take Our Stand” is the inside story of those three days and the courageous men and women who testified-a story that’s as important to tell today as ever. These brave soldiers and veterans are challenging a public silence that runs very deep, underscoring a willingness to accept unspeakable horrors-as long as we don’t know about them.

Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW) was founded by Iraq war veterans in July 2004 at the annual convention of Veterans for Peace (VFP) in Boston to give a voice to the large number of active duty service people and veterans who are against this war, but are under various pressures to remain silent. This benefit will go towards the IVAW’s continuing efforts to bring home the reality of the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Acclaimed animator Don Hertzfeldt will appear in person to present his newest film and a selection of his award-winning earlier shorts Monday, March 26, 2012 at 7:00pm! Hertzfeldt’s new film, It’s Such a Beautiful Day, making its exclusive regional premiere at IFC Center, is the third and final chapter in a trilogy about a mysterious man named Bill. The entire trilogy will be screened together for the first time on new 35mm prints, followed by a live Q&A with Hertzfeldt.

Nearly two years in the making, the 23-minute It’s Such a Beautiful Day is Hertzfeldt’s longest, and most ambitious, piece to date. Blending traditional animation, experimental optical effects, trick photography, and new digital hyrbids printed out one frame at a time, the movie was captured entirely on an antique 35mm animation stand, one of the last remaining cameras of its kind left in America.

Don Hertzfeldt’s animated films have been featured in over a thousand film festivals and venues around the world and have collectively received over 150 international awards. Some notable honors include a Short Film Palme D’or nomination at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival (Billy’s Balloon), a 2001 Oscar nomination for Best Animated Short (Rejected), the Sundance Film Festival’s Jury Award in Short Filmmaking (Everything Will Be OK), and Best Picture and Best Screenplay from the Fargo Film Festival (I Am So Proud of You). In 2010, Don received the San Francisco International Film Festival’s “Persistence of Vision” Lifetime Achievement Award at the age of 33.

Tickets for this special event are $17.50 general admission, $15.50 seniors, $13.50 IFC Center members

30th Anniversary!

New 4K Digital Restoration!

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, Steven Spielberg’s breakneck adventure tale starring Harrison Ford as daredevil archaeologist Indiana Jones, returns for its 30th anniversary in a gorgeous new 4K digital restoration for midnight shows at IFC Center, Friday and Saturday, December 16 and 17, and Friday-Sunday, December 30-January 1. A movie-lover’s treat just in time for the holidays, this sparkling new restoration brings Spielberg’s loving homage to B-movies, adventure serials, and all manner of cinematic derring-do back to the big screen where it belongs, looking better than ever.

Packed mainly into December, Stranger Than Fiction screens seven films co-presented with DOC NYC’s “Short List” section. See all these award contenders for FREE with the purchase of a STF Winter Season pass; or purchase tickets to individual shows. The official Winter Season will run Jan. 31 – March 20. See stfdocs.com for more details

Buy a Season Pass now, and get all 15 films for $100 ($80 for IFC members), free popcorn at all shows, and a free DVD from Docurama.

Mon. Dec. 12 @ 8pm:

PINA (in 3-D); Q&A TBA

Wim Wender’s (Wings of Desire, Buena Vista Social Club) dazzling foray into 3D began as a collaboration with legendary choreographer Pina Bausch, an attempt to re-imagine her dance on the big screen. When Bausch died suddenly in 2009, Wenders forged on, turning the project into a moving tribute to her groundbreaking work with the Tanztheater Wuppertal ensemble. With longtime members of the troupe re-creating classic pieces, PINA delivers an exhilarating journey deep into Bausch’s world. Buy tickets or season pass here (click on 8:00pm)

Tues. Dec. 13 @ 8pm

BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN; Q&A with directors Suki Hawley and Michael Galinsky

BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN follows the story of reluctant activist Daniel Goldstein as he struggles to save his home and community from being demolished to make way for a professional basketball arena and the densest real estate development in U.S. history. Along the way, he falls in love, gets married and starts a family while living in a vacated building located at the heart of the project site. Over the course of seven years, Daniel spearheads the movement against the development plan as he and the community fight tenaciously in the courts, the streets, and the media to stop the abuse of eminent domain and reveal the corruption at the heart of the plan. Buy tickets or season pass here (click on 8:00pm)

Wed. Dec. 14 @ 8pm

SEMPER FI: ALWAYS FAITHFUL; Q&A with director Rachel Libert

As a drill instructor he lived and breathed the “Corps” and was responsible for indoctrinating thousands of new recruits with its motto Semper Fidelis or “Always Faithful.” When Jerry’s nine-year old daughter Janey died of a rare type of leukemia, his world collapsed. As a grief-stricken father, he struggled for years to make sense of what happened. His search for answers led to the shocking discovery of a Marine Corps cover-up of one of the largest water contamination incidents in U.S. history.

SEMPER FI: ALWAYS FAITHFUL follows Jerry’s mission to expose the Marine Corps and force them to live up to their motto to the thousands of soldiers and their families exposed to toxic chemicals. His fight reveals a grave injustice at North Carolina’s Camp Lejeune and a looming environmental crisis at military sites across the country. Buy tickets or season pass here (click on 8:00pm)

Thurs. Dec. 15 @ 8pm

IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT; Q&A with directors Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman

In December 2005, Daniel McGowan was arrested by federal agents in a nationwide sweep of environmentalists involved with the Earth Liberation Front– a group the FBI has called America’s “number one domestic terrorism threat.” Charged with burning down two timber facilities years earlier, McGowan faced life in prison for his actions.

Part coming-of-age tale, part cops-and-robbers thriller, IF A TREE FALLS tells the dramatic story of Daniel McGowan and the ELF. And along the way it asks hard questions about environmentalism, activism, and the way we define terrorism. Buy tickets or season pass here (click on 8:00pm)

Mon. Dec. 19 @ 7:30pm (Note 7:30 start)

BUCK; Q&A with director Cindy Meehl

For Buck Brannaman, the charismatic figure who inspired The Horse Whisperer, horses are a mirror of the human soul. This richly textured and visually stunning portrait follows Brannaman as he teaches people to communicate with animals through instinct, dramatically transforming horses-and the humans working with them-through understanding, compassion and respect. Buy tickets or season pass here (click on 8:00pm)

Tues. Dec. 20 @ 8pm

UNDEFEATED; Q&A with directors Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin

Like a real-life Friday Night Lights, this emotional film paints an enthralling portrait, whether or not you care about football. Volunteer coach Bill Courtney takes over a beleaguered high school program in urban Memphis where players are more likely to go to jail than to college. Filmmakers Dan Lindsay and T.J. Martin follow the team’s season with masterful camerawork, vivid characters, and gripping plot twists. Buy tickets or season pass here (click on 8:00pm)

Thurs. Jan. 12 @ 8pm

THE INTERRUPTERS; Q&A with director Steve James

Hoop Dreams director Steve James delivers another non-fiction epic set on the streets of Chicago, following an organization called CeaseFire, comprised largely of former gang members who are trying to break the cycle of urban violence. James, teaming up with producer Alex Kotlowitz, author of the acclaimed book There Are No Children Here, immerses us into a world that feels like a real-life version of The Wire. Buy tickets or season pass here (click on 8:00pm)

Thurs. Jan. 12 @ 8pm

THE INTERRUPTERS; Q&A with director Steve James

Hoop Dreams director Steve James delivers another non-fiction epic set on the streets of Chicago, following an organization called CeaseFire, comprised largely of former gang members who are trying to break the cycle of urban violence. James, teaming up with producer Alex Kotlowitz, author of the acclaimed book There Are No Children Here, immerses us into a world that feels like a real-life version of The Wire. Buy tickets or season pass here (click on 8:00pm)

Tues. Jan. 17 @ 8pm

TITICUT FOLLIES; Q&A with director Frederick Wiseman

The film is a stark and graphic portrayal of the conditions that existed at the State Prison for the Criminally Insane at Bridgewater, Massachusetts. TITICUT FOLLIES documents the various ways the inmates are treated by the guards, social workers and psychiatrists. Buy tickets or season pass here (click on 8:00pm)

Presented by Creative Time, in recognition of World AIDS Day / Day With(out) Art.

Screening at 4:00, 5:15, 6:30 and 9:00pm — tickets are free, details below.

UNTITLED brings together archival and pop footage to conjure up the passionate activism sparked by the early years of the AIDS crisis. Unspooling at multiple levels, the narrative flies between scenes of tragedy and humor, while shredding traditional chronology, with excerpts from sources as varied as Golden Girls, Dynasty and pop music. Beginning with a reflection on the early AIDS epidemic, UNTITLED eschews a linear narrative to introduce a fractious timeline,moves from the sublime to the tragic and back again. By juxtaposing mainstream network news, activist footage, artists’ works, and popular entertainment from the last turbulent decades, UNTITLED explores a generation of AIDS and queer activism that continues today with international struggles for freedom and expression.

Jim Hodges has created a broad range of work exploring themes of fragility, temporality, love, and death in a highly original and poetic vocabulary. His works frequently deploy different materials and techniques: from ready‐made objects to traditional media, such as graphite and ink. He currently lives and works in New York City. Carlos Marques da Cruz works with artists, performers, and filmmakers world-wide. Encke King is a film and video producer, editor, and writer based in New York.

Tickets for the 4:00, 5:15 and 9:00pm shows are available in-person at the IFC Center box office only, starting one hour before each showtime, limit 2 tickets per person.

A limited number of tickets for the 6:30pm screening and panel discussion may be made available to a standby line at showtime. The standby line will begin at 5:30pm.

In early 1967, the Beatles released a groundbreaking single — John Lennon’s “Strawberry Fields Forever” backed by Paul McCartney’s “Penny Lane.” In its music, lyrics, arrangement, and subject matter, “Strawberry Fields Forever”/”Penny Lane” was a large step forward for the Beatles and for all of popular music.

In “A Trip Through Strawberry Fields”,producer and composer Scott Freiman explores the creation of these two masterpieces with special attention to the evolution of the songs from demos to final recordings, including rare audio and video clips from the studio sessions. The presentation also includes an in-depth look at Sgt. Pepper’s “A Day In The Life” — one of the Beatles’ most remarkable achievements. This revelatory, 90-minute journey into a classic is one of several in Freiman’s “Deconstructing the Beatles” lecture series.

“As a composer and producer, I have always been fascinated by the Beatles innovations in songwriting and recording,” said Freiman. “It is truly exciting to listen to songs we know so well evolve from a home demo to a finished recording. There’s a reason why the Beatles’ music continues to strike a chord with new generations of fans, 40 years after their last recording.”

Scott Freiman combines his knowledge of The Beatles with a career as a composer, producer and educator. His original music has been featured in award-winning films and performed at Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Freiman is the owner of Second Act Studio, a state-of-the-art music and video studio for composition, recording and production. More information about his Beatles Lectures is available at www.beatleslectures.com.

In honor of the release of URBANIZED — the final film in Gary Hustwit’s design trilogy — on Fri Oct 28, we present this one-night-only encore presentation of the first two installments. Hustwit and special guests in person at both shows. Separate admission; click on a showtime below to purchase tickets.

HELVETICA at 7:30pm

Cool, efficient, authoritative, the Helvetica typeface is so ubiquitous that it seems impossible to imagine printed signage without it. This new documentary examines the life of what may be the world’s most popular font—celebrating its 50th anniversary this year—from its origins as a vanguard of mid-20th century modernism, to its rise to mainstream dominance. Through interviews with a host of experts, HELVETICA dives into the world of typography, graphic design and global visual culture, exploring the proliferation of one typeface as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our perception of the world.

OBJECTIFIED at 9:30pm

Interviewing design-world stars who create objects for Apple, Muji, IKEA and others, OBJECTIFIED looks at the inspiration at work behind everything from toothbrushes to hi-tech gadgets. In thoughtful and revealing conversations, some of the world’s most influential designers illuminate the process of making their ideas concrete, and the increasingly urgent need to find sustainable design solutions for the future.

IFC Center will host the Minions of Gozer for two performances accompanying midnight showings of GHOSTBUSTERS.

While honoring traditions built by Rocky Horror fans across the world, the Minions of Gozer bring a twist to the art of the shadowcast, with a show chock full of all the Ghostbusters moments you’ve never actually seen but always wanted to. Like the time that Egon tried to drill a hole through his head. The undersea, unexplained mass sponge migration. And even Louis Tully’s high-speed workout. No scene is too big; no unseen scene is too big! The Minions of Gozer are ready to entertain you!

“[GHOSTBUSTERS] stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, and Harold Ramis, three graduates of the Second City/National Lampoon/”Saturday Night Live” tradition. They’re funny, but they’re not afraid to reveal that they’re also quick-witted and intelligent; their dialogue puts nice little spins on American clichés, and it uses understatement, irony, in-jokes, vast cynicism, and cheerful goofiness. Rarely has a movie this expensive provided so many quotable lines.

“The plot, such as it is, involves an epidemic of psychic nuisance reports in Manhattan. Murray, Ramis, and Aykroyd, defrocked parapsychologists whose university experiments have been exposed as pure boondoggle, create a company named Ghostbusters and offer to speed to the rescue like a supernatural version of the Orkin man. Business is bad until Sigourney Weaver notices that the eggs in her kitchen are frying themselves. Her next-door neighbor, Rick Moranis, notices horrifying monsters in the apartment hallways. They both apparently live in a building that serves as a conduit to the next world. The ghostbusters ride to the rescue, armed with nuclear-powered backpacks. There is a lot of talk about arcane details of psychic lore (most of which the ghostbusters are inventing on the spot), and then an earthshaking showdown between good and evil, during which Manhattan is menaced by a monster that is twenty stories high, and about which I cannot say one more word without spoiling the movie’s best visual moment.

“GHOSTBUSTERS is one of those rare movies where the original, fragile comic vision has survived a multimillion-dollar production. It is not a complete vindication for big-budget comedies, since it’s still true, as a general rule, that the more you spend, the fewer laughs you get. But it uses its money wisely, and when that, ahem, monster marches down a Manhattan avenue and climbs the side of a skyscraper … we’re glad they spent the money for the special effects because it gets one of the biggest laughs in a long time.” – Roger Ebert

Tickets now on sale!

Over 100 films and events, including gala screenings, NYC stories, family matinees, international premieres, midnight rock docs, a tribute to verite great Richard Leacock, shorts, panels, and more!

Over 200 special guests in person, including Werner Herzog, Jonathan Demme, Charlotte Rampling, DA Pennebaker, Barbara Kopple, Russell Simmons, Joe Frazier, and more!

Highlights include: Opening Night Gala of Herzog’s latest, INTO THE ABYSS; US premiere of LEMON, a profile of the Def Poetry Jam star; Spotlight presentation of THE ISLAND PRESIDENT, Toronto Audience Award-winner; an evening with Elliott Erwitt; portraits of Bill T. Jones, Charles & Ray Eames, Jascha Heifetz, Stan Lee, and more!

Visit docnyc.net for full schedule, film details, and to purchase tickets

“A bonanza for documentary lovers.” – The Wall Street Journal

New York’s premier documentary festival is back, returning for its second year to Greenwich Village with an expanded line-up, 2 extra days, and more guests, panels, and films than last year! The largest festival of its kind ever held in New York, DOC NYC 2011 will showcase 107 events, including screenings of 52 feature-length films and 40 shorts as well as 15 doc-related panel discussions. All events will take place at IFC Center and New York University’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts and Kimmel Center.

Visit docnyc.net for full schedule, film details, and to purchase tickets

We’re thrilled to welcome back Doxita, a traveling festival of short documentaries, with the New York premiere of its fourth annual installment on Tuesday, September 27 at 6:30pm. Doxita presents films that are under 40 minutes in length, representing a wide variety of documentary—domestic and foreign, short and longer format, serious and funny—and showcasing accomplished short non-fiction work that people don’t often get a chance to see.

This year’s lineup features:

GUAÑAPE SUR (Janos Richter, Italy, 22 min) In this visually stunning portrait, Peruvian workers travel by boat to an island of birds, where they’ll harvest the rich soil for fertilizer.

WAGAH (Supriyo Sen, Germany, 13 min) Each day, at a checkpoint on the border of India and Pakistan, thousands of spectators proclaim their national identity as they watch their soldiers perform the flag ceremony.

MY NAME IS SYDNEY (Melanie Levy, USA, 17 min) 16-year old Sydney is articulate in ways she can never express – a complex woman inside a severely autistic body. Levy captures the sensitive care-giving of her mother and Sydney’s artistic musings.

ARSY VERSY (Miro Remo, Slovakia, 24 min) Lubo watches over the bats, while his mother watches over him. A quirky portrait of a man who follows his own spirit, even if it’s a bit “upside down.”